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To become eligible for Social Security disability benefits, you must be unable to engage in substantial gainful activity. However, you may be able to earn a small amount of income while receiving Social Security disability payments.

“It is possible to qualify for Social Security disability benefits and still work in a limited capacity,” says Nick Ortiz, a board-certified Social Security disability attorney and owner of Ortiz Law Firm in Pensacola, Florida. “Social Security has special rules for work activity called work incentives.”

To make the most of your benefits and job opportunities, it can be helpful to know what’s available. Read on for a look at what’s involved with Social Security disability benefits, as well as the rules related to working while receiving benefits.

Bitter Cold Temperatures Expected to Move into the State; Anyone in Need of Shelter Should Call 2-1-1

(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today
announced that he will activate the state’s Severe Cold Weather
Protocol beginning at noon on Wednesday, January 30, and lasting through
noon on Sunday, February 3, as bitter cold temperatures and wind chills
are anticipated to impact the state. The protocol directs staff from
the relevant state agencies to coordinate with 2-1-1 and Connecticut’s
network of shelters to ensure that the most vulnerable populations
receive protection from the severe cold.

A listing of available shelters throughout Connecticut can be located by calling 2-1-1 or visiting www.211ct.org.

“A brutally cold stretch of weather is
expected to impact our state again in the coming days,” Governor Lamont
said. “We need to spread the word to the most vulnerable in our
communities that the conditions will become too dangerous to spend
extended periods of time outdoors – shelters are available throughout
the state.”

While activated, the Department of
Emergency Services and Public Protection’s Division of Emergency
Management and Homeland Security activates its WebEOC communications
network, which serves as an internet-based system enabling local,
regional, and state emergency management officials and first responders
to share up-to-date information about a variety of situations and
conditions. The system is used to monitor capacity at shelters and
enables 2-1-1 to act as a clearinghouse to assist in finding shelter
space for those who need it. Local officials, working through WebEOC,
can alert 2-1-1 and the state when they open temporary shelters or
warming centers.

In addition, staff from the Department of
Social Services, the Department of Housing, and the Department of Mental
Health and Addiction Services coordinate with 2-1-1 and the Connecticut
Coalition to End Homelessness, along with other community-based
providers, to locate people who are in need and provide transportation
to shelters.

HARTFORD — Six Medicaid recipients have filed a class action lawsuit against the state Department of Social Services for failing to provide them with timely transportation to their doctor appointments.

The group discussed many critical issues relating to issues of health, disability, and racial/ethnic minorities. We thank our participants and community partners for taking the time to engage in this conversation and value the input that has been shared.

This community forum is part of an ongoing initiative led by the Office of Minority Health specifically looking at minority disability populations in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Findings will be made available in a public report around March 2019.

If you were unable to attend the forum, and or would like to help continue this conversation:

Please consider sharing the links to the surveys below with your clients / patients / colleagues / networks. This is an anonymous survey that can be completed by anyone in the states of RI and CT over the age of 18.

We would greatly appreciate if you would consider circulating the links to the surveys widely across all methods of communication. If you would prefer hard copies of the survey mailed we are able to do so.

The Connecticut Community Action Agency (CAA) Network began accepting early energy assistance applications for the 2018-2019 heating season Aug. 1, 2018.

Connecticut residents struggling to pay their utility bills can apply for home heating assistance at their local CAA. Community Action Agencies are the only nonprofit agencies administering the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which provides home heating assistance to the state’s most vulnerable residents. In Connecticut this program is called the Connecticut Energy Assistance Program (CEAP) and is housed under the Department of Social Services. The state’s Community Action Agencies administer the program locally in all 169 cities and towns. Click here to read the full press release and find your local CAA!

We are closing in on the deadline to apply for heating assistance. If you are eligible for home heating assistance, this program is here to help you and your family stay warm.

The general deadline for applications is May 1, 2018, however eligible households that are subject to a shut-off notice by a utility for heating bills have an extended deadline of May 15.

Basic benefit awards are determined based on income, household size, vulnerability (eg. families with children or seniors) and liquid assets. Vulnerable households and households with the lowest incomes receive the highest awards.

The state Department of Social Services and the Community Action Agencies work in conjunction with local governments, private human services providers and the General Assembly to assist Connecticut residents who are CEAP-eligible in maximizing potential energy assistance options.

Those seeking heating assistance should call 2-1-1 or visit this link.

Emergency funding is also available to repair or replace unsafe or inoperable heating systems for single-family, owner-occupied homes. To qualify, a household’s income cannot exceed 60 percent of the state median income (currently $34,366 for a single person and $66,089 for a household of four). A heating system must be deemed as unsafe or inoperable by a licensed heating vendor to be considered.

Applicants can request an appointment through the community action agency serving their town or city, or can apply at partnering intake sites around the state. To find the nearest application site, people should call 2-1-1 or visit this link.

If you or someone you know might be eligible, please apply and share this information.

Twenty-seven years ago, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed, prohibiting discrimination against individuals with disabilities. I still remember standing in the Rose Garden watching President George H.W. Bush sign the bill into law.

Today, as a result, people with disabilities face far fewer barriers to mobility and communication. Thanks to innovations ranging from curb cuts and Braille on ATMs to improved access to education and healthcare, people with disabilities lead more productive lives and can contribute more to our nation’s economy.

Approximately 20 Yalies attended a conversation about political issues including medical insurance and disability rights with state Sen. Ted Kennedy FES ’91, D-Branford, hosted by the Yale College Democrats on Wednesday evening.

After he was diagnosed with bone cancer at age 12, Kennedy had his right leg amputated. Since then, Kennedy — the nephew of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy — has made the rights of people with disabilities a large part of his advocacy work, campaigning against the use of the word “retarded” in schools and serving on the boards of Special Olympics International, Connecticut’s Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities and the American Association of People with Disabilities. At the event in WLH 120, Kennedy expressed opposition to what he described as President Donald Trump’s anti-disability policies and encouraged students to challenge candidates’ policies on the rights of those with disabilities.

Open Communities Alliance’s September 2017 Out of Balance report shines a light on the opportunity gap in Connecticut and the role subsidized housing policy plays in generating and reinforcing it. Building on the work of historians and others who have documented the long history of government-sponsored segregation, this report maps “opportunity” by census tract and overlays the locations of government subsidized housing across a number of programs. The report concludes that the state needs continued investments in under-resourced, “lower” opportunity, areas while adjusting housing program priorities and addressing exclusionary zoning in order to bring geographic balance to subsidized housing locations.